EU Deforestation Rules May Bar Most Ethiopian Coffee Farmers From Export Market
New EU regulations requiring proof of deforestation-free coffee could exclude up to 60% of Ethiopian growers, threatening the sector and the wider economy.
The European Union is set to implement stringent deforestation-free certification for coffee, cocoa and other commodities at the beginning of next year, obliging exporters to provide detailed traceability evidence. Ethiopia, widely regarded as the birthplace of coffee and employing around 15 million people in the sector, sends about 30% of its coffee harvest to EU buyers. Because Ethiopian coffee is largely produced by smallholders whose beans are mixed and sold in bulk, meeting the new mapping requirements is difficult.
Analysts at the London-based ODI Global project that up to 60% of these growers could be barred from the EU market under the new rules. While Ethiopia’s coffee authority is working to compile the required data, the country has also committed to planting 8 billion new trees this year, though questions linger over the verification and survival of those trees.
Why it matters
EU rules could dramatically cut Ethiopian coffee exports, affecting millions of livelihoods and global coffee supply.
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